The Ambiguous Presence of Meaning by Koujash Admin is from the first survey of contemporary Iranian photography presented in the United States. At the Katherine E. Nash Gallery through April 8.

Persian Silver: Contemporary Photography from Iran

By Pauline Oo

Published on March 11, 2004

In Ruins and Baby, you see the ravages of war.
In self-portrait, you see parts that make up a woman-her
nose, her hands, her husband and three children. And in an untitled
piece, 35 eyes look in every direction, including straight at you.
The 80 images in "Persian Silver: Contemporary Photography from
Iran" hang on the walls of the University's Katherine E. Nash
Gallery, as a collaboration between University associate art
professor Gary Hallman and Ali Rex Sami-Azar, director of the
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

"There is a tremendous amount of layering in each photograph,"
says Hallman. "Nothing you see is clear cut, because either the
photographer has to be careful about what he or she wants to say
[due to political, religious, or social concerns] or the
photographer wants us to think about something in a different
way."

While exhibiting his work in Tehran in 2001, Hallman struck up a
friendship with Sami-Azar and they agreed to work together on an
exhibit. Hallman returned to Tehran to help choose the photographs
by 20 Iranian photographers. "I walked through as many studios as
[Sami-Azar] could line up," says Hallman. "It was a treat to talk
with the artists at their workplaces--in some cases, these were
their homes--instead of seeing their portfolios all laid out in a
room in the museum."

A panel discussion featuring Hamid Severi,
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art curator, a University art history
graduate student, and several Twin Cities artists will take place
on Tuesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. in the Nash gallery. The panel will
talk about the work in the Persian Silver exhibit and how it
compares to other photography in the U.S. and around the
world.

The Katherine E. Nash Gallery is located on the University's West
Bank Arts Quarter at 405 21st Ave. S., Minneapolis. Admission is
free. Gallery hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.;
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. To learn more
about the gallery, including "Wallpiece," a concurrent multimedia
exhibit by artist Gary Hill, see http://artdept.umn.edu/art_dept/nash.

Americans in the United States have not seen a survey of
contemporary photography from Iran by such a large group of artists
in nearly 25 years, says Hallman. "Iran is a country that's been
out of our political arena since the revolution in 1979," he says.
"Our relationship has been distant and cool, but the doors are
opening to international exhibit exchanges." Sami-Azar and Hallman
chose the name Persian Silver to reflect the people of Iran and the
silver emulsions used in the photographic process. (Once called
Persia, Iran became the country's official name in 1935, though the
names remain interchangeable.) "This is an opportunity for
Minnesotans to experience the vision and thought of Iranian artists
at a timely historical juncture," says Hallman. "Everyone [who
visits the exhibit] will come away with different reactions because
of their different histories and life experiences. My hope is that
everyone will be challenged by some of the mysteries that the
photographs provoke."

The show is on display at the gallery through April 8. An
American exhibit featuring 20 photographers from the Twin Cities is
scheduled to appear at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art later
this year.